1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a footstand or support stand for free standing medical devices and, more particularly, the invention relates to a footstand suitable in use with a drainage unit to prevent such unit from being upset or overturned. The footstand finds a preferred use in stabilizing a chest drainage unit (CDU), used chiefly during surgical procedures and for post operative patient care, for receiving and collecting fluids drained from the patient, by securing the CDU in an upright position.
2. Prior Art
There have been a number of devices introduced in the market place for use as a base or stand in an effort to keep a CDU or other drainage device in an upright position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,873 to Rajlevsky discloses one such unit. However, Rajlevsky only discloses the use of a single rotating base member which is capable of extending only a short distance on either side of the drainage device to provide the required support for such drainage device. A second drainage receptacle with footstand is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,969 to Schweizer. The rotating footstand shown in Schweizer is very similar to that shown in Rajlevsky including the same disadvantages discussed above.
A further prior art CDU with footstand is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein the CDU 10 has two base supporting members or legs 12 and 14, one at either end of the base of the CDU. Each leg 12 and 14 is provided with a length generally equal to the width of the CDU base. Therefore, unlike the prior art footstands discussed above, each leg of the prior art device shown in FIG. 1 is as long as the CDU base is wide thereby providing leg supporting surfaces extending a greater distance on either side of the supported CDU such that the CDU has an improved stability. However, to extend the two base supporting members 12 and 14, it is necessary to rotate each supporting member separately into its base stabilizing position. And, when transporting the CDU, it will be necessary to rotate each supporting member back again into its non-stabilizing positions.